In a daring operation, a C-130J aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) rescued 121 people from a small airstrip at Wadi Sayyidna, which is about 40 km North of Khartoum, the capital city of Sudan which is also the epicentre of the violence. The operation was conducted on the intervening night of April 27-28 and the passengers included medical cases, including a pregnant lady, besides those who had no means to reach Port Sudan. India launched ‘Operation Kaveri’ earlier this week to bring back the stranded Indians from Sudan.
The airstrip where the operation was executed had a degraded surface, with no navigational approach aids or fuel, and most critically it did not even have the landing lights that are required to guide an aircraft landing at night.
Approaching the airstrip, the aircrew used their Electro-Optical/Infra-Red sensors to ensure that the runway was free from any obstructions and that there no inimical forces were in the vicinity. Following that, the aircrew carried out a tactical approach on Night Vision Goggles, on a practically dark night, as per IAF officials.
Upon landing, the aircraft engines were kept running while eight IAF Garud Commandos secured the passengers and their luggage into the aircraft. Night Vision Goggles were also used during the take-off from the unlit runway.
According to officials, this convoy was led by the Indian Defence Attaché, who was in continuous touch with IAF authorities all along, till they reached the airstrip at Wadi Sayyidna.
This operation took place approximately two and a half hours between Wadi Sayyidna and Jeddah. IAF officials said that the act will go down in the annals of IAF history for its sheer audacity and flawless execution — akin to that carried out in Kabul. The Indian Air Force had carried out similar operations to evacuate Indians from Kabul after the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021.
Group Captain Ravi Nanda is the captain of the Indian Air Force C-130J Special Ops aircraft which carried out the daring operation, news agency ANI reported defence sources as informing. Nanda was awarded a gallantry medal for rescuing Indians from Afghanistan in August 2021 as part of Operation Devi Shakti. The IAF aircraft fly with a team of Garud Special Forces on all such missions, they said.
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